D'Annunzio's house-museum with the ship Puglia
On the hills above Gardone Riviera, on the western shore of Lake Garda, the Vittoriale degli Italiani is the extravagant monumental citadel that the poet, writer and soldier Gabriele D'Annunzio built between 1921 and his death in 1938 as a celebration of his life and of the "victorious Italy" of the First World War. He donated it to the Italian people while still alive.
The complex extends over nine hectares and includes the Prioria, D'Annunzio's house, kept exactly as he left it: dark, cluttered rooms filled with thousands of objects, books, statues, carpets, relics and mottoes, with names like the "Leper's Room" and the "Mask Room". In the park, a real warship, the cruiser Puglia, is set into the hillside facing the lake; there are also an open-air amphitheatre used for summer concerts, the MAS motorboat from which he made a famous raid in 1918, the plane of his flight over Vienna, and, at the top, the circular mausoleum where he is buried with his companions of the Fiume enterprise.
Tip: the visit to the Prioria is guided and limited; book a time slot when you arrive or online, and allow at least half a day for everything.
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